No Honeymoon for Bush

America is still split down the middle over most issues relating to Iraq - attitudes have changed very little after the assault on Fallujah, according to the latest Harris Poll. More generally, the popularity ratings of President Bush and his cabinet show no sign of the usual 'honeymoon period' for a newly elected or re-elected President.

The pollster points out however that the survey was conducted before US troops had announced they had completed their capture of Fallujah, so it is 'possible that attitudes have changed somewhat since this survey was conducted'.

Forty-eight per cent believe the invasion of Iraq has strengthened the war on terrorism while another 48% believe it has weakened it. A 53 to 46% majority continues to believe that the invasion of Iraq has not helped to protect the United States from another terrorist attack.

A 59 to 39 percent majority continues to believe that what the public was told by the government before the war in Iraq was generally misleading. The latter figure is very similar to what it was in April 2004, having fallen sharply from 55% in June 2003 to 40% then. However, the split is more even when asked whether the government tried to present the intelligence reports about weapons of mass destruction accurately or deliberately exaggerated them - 49% to 48%.

The proportion believing that a large number of US troops should remain in Iraq has crept back to half - 50% think troops should stay until there is a stable government (up from 38% in September), while 47% say they should be brought home in the next year (down from 54%). The proximity of the Iraq elections may be affecting this by reinforcing the perceived need for security and/or 'getting the job done'.

Other figures show the lack of the 'honeymoon period', which probably results from the strength of feeling about the election just passed. The ratings of President Bush and the leading members of his cabinet are virtually unchanged from the numbers in late October, shortly before the presidential election.

President Bush's ratings are 50% positive, 49% negative, virtually identical to his 51 to 49% ratings in late October, and about the level from just before September 11th (52% positive). His positive rating rocketed to 88% in October 2001 but fell steadily again through to December 2003 and has remained around 50% ever since.

Colin Powell, who has consistently been the most popular member of the president's cabinet over the last four years, leaves office with 66% to 32% ratings, again almost identical to his 68 to 30% ratings in late October.

Both sets of results come from 1,014 telephone interviews within the United States between November 9 and 14 with US adults (18+). The company's web site is at
www.harrisinteractive.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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